In my mind the best way to spend a free afternoon is to go outside and enjoy the nature, so this is what I decided to do on a beautiful sunny day. I packed my stuff, prepared my dogs to go on another adventure and headed to the national park of Pyhä-Luosto.

We started at the Rykimäkero parking area and from here we followed the Rykimäkero trail (more information about the trail and how to get there can be found below).

On the trail there is located an amethist mine. If you are planning to bringing it a visit, this trail is a perfect way to get there. But remember to check their website for the opening hours before you make your way there!

By following the trail you will come across different kinds of paths and parts of the forest. One moment your are making your way through the swamp on some duckboards, and the next you are following a dirt road between the trees. But this is what makes the trail so special: the changing scenery makes you experience the different aspect of nature that Lapland has to offer.

During the hike my dogs suddenly got restless. They started sniffing every little leaf and rock that crossed their path, hoping that it will give away the location of the thing that leaves behind a certain scent that they had picked up on. It only took a couple of meters until a reindeer decided to pop out from between the trees. It happens quite often that we come across these beautiful animals during a hike. Sadly, my huskies don’t have the best intentions when meeting these creatures, so we had to move on pretty quickly.

Along the trail there are a lot of shelter places where you can make a fire, enjoy some lunch or just take a little break. Just remember to leave everything the way you found it, without any waste or damage, so we can enjoy these shelters for many years to come!

During one of our breaks a couple of siberian jays decided to give us a little show. They flew from tree to tree and made it look like they were dancing in the sky. Sadly I didn’t have the right equipment to get this photographed. But if you are lucky and quiet, you might experience this as well during your visit!

During my hike there were a lot of ripe bilberries and cloudberries at the side of the trail, so we decided to pick some as a snack and to bring home. My huskies think of the bilberries as nature’s free dogtreat, which makes it a little harder to actually have any berries left to bring home.

Close to the end of our hike we came across the gorge of Rykimäkero. This gorge originated when the rockbed started to tear. It’s a beautiful place to sit down and take some time to admire the power of nature. There is also a shelter, named Rykimäkuru, next to the gorge.

After this our hike came to an end. We were all satisfied by the things we had seen and experienced and can’t wait for the fall colors to start showing. Then we will follow the same trail once again and enjoy the beauty that autumn season gives us.